Water alteration structure and system

ABSTRACT

A system is described generally for providing a structure or structures for altering water surface temperature. The system includes a holding vessel configured to hold water. The holding vessel has at least one wall coupled to a lowermost portion. The at least one wall extends above the water level and the lowermost portion is configured to be submerged. At least one conduit extends from the lower side of the holding vessel. The at least one conduit has a length extending to a depth at which a property of water at the depth is substantially different from that of the water at the surface.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is related to and claims the benefit of theearliest available effective filing date(s) from the following listedapplication(s) (the “Related Applications”) (e.g., claims earliestavailable priority dates for other than provisional patent applicationsor claims benefits under 35 USC §119(e) for provisional patentapplications, for any and all parent, grandparent, great-grandparent,etc. applications of the Related Application(s)).

RELATED APPLICATIONS

For purposes of the USPTO extra-statutory requirements, the presentapplication constitutes a continuation-in-part of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 12/006,815, entitled WATER ALTERATION STRUCTUREMOVEMENT METHOD AND SYSTEM, naming Jeffrey A. Bowers, Kenneth G.Caldeira, Alistair K. Chan, William H. Gates, III, Roderick A. Hyde,Muriel Y. Ishikawa, Jordin T. Kare, John Latham, Nathan P. Myhrvold,Stephen H. Salter, Clarence T. Tegreene, and Lowell L. Wood, Jr. asinventors, filed 03 Jan., 2008, which is currently co-pending, or is anapplication of which a currently co-pending application is entitled tothe benefit of the filing date.

For purposes of the USPTO extra-statutory requirements, the presentapplication constitutes a continuation-in-part of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 12/006,805, entitled WATER ALTERATION STRUCTUREAPPLICATIONS AND METHODS, naming Jeffrey A. Bowers, Kenneth G. Caldeira,Alistair K. Chan, William H. Gates, III, Roderick A. Hyde, Muriel Y.Ishikawa, Jordin T. Kare, John Latham, Nathan P. Myhrvold, Stephen H.Salter, Clarence T. Tegreene, William Willard H. Wattenburg, and LowellL. Wood, Jr. as inventors, filed 03 Jan., 2008, which is currentlyco-pending, or is an application of which a currently co-pendingapplication is entitled to the benefit of the filing date.

For purposes of the USPTO extra-statutory requirements, the presentapplication constitutes a continuation-in-part of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 12/006,804, entitled WATER

ALTERATION STRUCTURE RISK MANAGEMENT OR ECOLOGICAL ALTERATION MANAGEMENTSYSTEMS AND METHODS, naming Jeffrey A. Bowers, Kenneth G. Caldeira,Alistair K. Chan, William H. Gates, III, Roderick A. Hyde, Muriel Y.Ishikawa, Jordin T. Kare, John Latham, Nathan P. Myhrvold, Stephen H.Salter, Clarence T. Tegreene, and Lowell L. Wood, Jr. as inventors,filed 03 Jan., 2008, which is currently co-pending, or is an applicationof which a currently co-pending application is entitled to the benefitof the filing date.

The United States Patent Office (USPTO) has published a notice to theeffect that the USPTO's computer programs require that patent applicantsreference both a serial number and indicate whether an application is acontinuation or continuation-in-part. Stephen G. Kunin, Benefit ofPrior-Filed Application, USPTO Official Gazette Mar. 18, 2003, availableat http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/com/sol/og/2003/week11/patbene.htm.The present Applicant Entity (hereinafter “Applicant”) has providedabove a specific reference to the application(s) from which priority isbeing claimed as recited by statute. Applicant understands that thestatute is unambiguous in its specific reference language and does notrequire either a serial number or any characterization, such as“continuation” or “continuation-in-part,” for claiming priority to U.S.patent applications. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Applicantunderstands that the USPTO's computer programs have certain data entryrequirements, and hence Applicant is designating the present applicationas a continuation-in-part of its parent applications as set forth above,but expressly points out that such designations are not to be construedin any way as any type of commentary and/or admission as to whether ornot the present application contains any new matter in addition to thematter of its parent application(s).

All subject matter of the Related Applications and of any and allparent, grandparent, great-grandparent, etc. applications of the RelatedApplications is incorporated herein by reference to the extent suchsubject matter is not inconsistent herewith.

BACKGROUND

The description herein generally relates to the field of alteration ofwater temperatures and dissolved and particulate matter in bodies ofwater such as oceans, lakes, rivers, structures capable aiding in thealteration and control of such surface and subsurface water temperaturesand compositions as well as of many applications and methods of makingand using the same. The description also generally relates to the fieldof structures for altering weather conditions to aid in the preventionof hurricanes or near-hurricane type weather and/or the suppression ofhurricanes and/or near-hurricane type weather.

Conventionally, there is a need for structures for applications relatedto altering water properties such that there is a diminished contrastbetween near surface waters and waters found at greater depth, such asbut not limited to atmospheric management, weather management, hurricanesuppression, hurricane prevention, hurricane intensity modulation,hurricane deflection, biological augmentation, biological remediation,etc.

SUMMARY

In one or more various aspects, related systems include but are notlimited to circuitry and/or programming for effecting theherein-referenced method aspects; the circuitry and/or programming canbe virtually any combination of hardware, software, and/or firmwareconfigured to effect the herein-referenced method aspects depending uponthe design choices of the system designer. Also various structuralelements may be employed depending on design choices of the systemdesigner.

In one aspect, a system for altering water properties includes a holdingvessel configured to hold water, the holding vessel has at least onewall. The at least one wall extends at least above a mean surface waterlevel. At least one conduit extends downward. The at least one conduithas a length extending to a depth at which at least one property ofwater at the depth differs substantially from that of water at thesurface.

In another aspect, a system for altering water properties includes a tubportion configured to hold water. The tub portion may be formed as acontainer having at least one side extending at least above a meansurface water level and the tub portion may be at least partiallysubmerged. At least one conduit extends downward from the tub portion.The at least one conduit may have a length extending to a depth at whichat least one property of water at the depth differs substantially fromthat of water at the surface.

In yet another aspect, a system for altering conditions below thesurface of the water includes a holding vessel configured to hold water.The holding vessel has at least one wall. The at least one wall extendsat least above a mean local surface water level. The system alsoincludes at least one conduit extending downward from the holdingvessel. The at least one conduit has a length extending to a depth belowthe local water surface.

In addition to the foregoing, other system aspects are described in theclaims, drawings, and text forming a part of the present disclosure.

In addition to the foregoing, various other method and/or system and/orprogram product aspects are set forth and described in the teachingssuch as text (e.g., claims and/or detailed description) and/or drawingsof the present disclosure.

The foregoing is a summary and thus contains, by necessity,simplifications, generalizations and omissions of detail; consequently,those skilled in the art will appreciate that the summary isillustrative only and is NOT intended to be in any way limiting. Otheraspects, features, and advantages of the devices and/or processes and/orother subject matter described herein will become apparent in theteachings set forth herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The foregoing summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be inany way limiting. In addition to the illustrative aspects, embodiments,and features described above, further aspects, embodiments, and featureswill become apparent by reference to the drawings and the followingdetailed description, of which:

FIG. 1 is an exemplary diagram of a generalized vessel for holding andmoving water.

FIG. 2 is an exemplary diagram of a pattern of deployment of a pluralityof vessels similar to that of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is another exemplary diagram of a pattern of deployment of aplurality of vessels similar to that of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is an exemplary diagram of a generalized vessel for holding andmoving water and depicting on-board propulsive devices.

FIG. 5 is a simplified depiction of a deployment of a plurality ofvessels such as those depicted in FIG. 1 in a geographic region, thesimplified depiction not intended to imply any specific scale and thedepiction of the vessels and watercraft not drawn to scale.

FIG. 6 is an exemplary block diagram of a generalized vessel for holdingand moving water having an auxiliary conduit.

FIG. 7 is an alternative exemplary diagram of a generalized vessel forholding and moving water.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following detailed description, reference is made to theaccompanying drawings, which form a part hereof. In the drawings,similar symbols typically identify similar components, unless contextdictates otherwise. The illustrative embodiments described in thedetailed description, drawings, and claims are not meant to be limiting.Other embodiments may be utilized, and other changes may be made,without departing from the spirit or scope of the subject matterpresented here. Those having skill in the art will recognize that thestate of the art has progressed to the point where there is littledistinction left between hardware and software implementations ofaspects of systems; the use of hardware or software is generally (butnot always, in that in certain contexts the choice between hardware andsoftware can become significant) a design choice representing cost vs.efficiency tradeoffs. Those having skill in the art will appreciate thatthere are various vehicles by which processes and/or systems and/orother technologies described herein can be effected (e.g., hardware,software, and/or firmware), and that the preferred vehicle will varywith the context in which the processes and/or systems and/or othertechnologies are deployed. For example, if an implementer determinesthat speed and accuracy are paramount, the implementer may opt for amainly hardware and/or firmware vehicle; alternatively, if flexibilityis paramount, the implementer may opt for a mainly softwareimplementation; or, yet again alternatively, the implementer may opt forsome combination of hardware, software, and/or firmware. Hence, thereare several possible vehicles by which the processes and/or devicesand/or other technologies described herein may be effected, none ofwhich is inherently superior to the other in that any vehicle to beutilized is a choice dependent upon the context in which the vehiclewill be deployed and the specific concerns (e.g., speed, flexibility, orpredictability) of the implementer, any of which may vary. Those skilledin the art will recognize that optical aspects of implementations willtypically employ optically-oriented hardware, software, and or firmware.

The foregoing detailed description has set forth various embodiments ofthe devices and/or processes via the use of block diagrams, flowcharts,and/or examples. Insofar as such block diagrams, flowcharts, and/orexamples contain one or more functions and/or operations, it will beunderstood by those within the art that each function and/or operationwithin such block diagrams, flowcharts, or examples can be implemented,individually and/or collectively, by a wide range of hardware, software,firmware, or virtually any combination thereof. In one embodiment,several portions of the subject matter described herein may beimplemented via Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), FieldProgrammable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), digital signal processors (DSPs), orother integrated formats. However, those skilled in the art willrecognize that some aspects of the embodiments disclosed herein, inwhole or in part, can be equivalently implemented in integratedcircuits, as one or more computer programs running on one or morecomputers (e.g., as one or more programs running on one or more computersystems), as one or more programs running on one or more processors(e.g., as one or more programs running on one or more microprocessors),as firmware, or as virtually any combination thereof, and that designingthe circuitry and/or writing the code for the software and or firmwarewould be well within the skill of one of skill in the art in light ofthis disclosure. In addition, those skilled in the art will appreciatethat the mechanisms of the subject matter described herein are capableof being distributed as a program product in a variety of forms, andthat an illustrative embodiment of the subject matter described hereinapplies regardless of the particular type of signal bearing medium usedto actually carry out the distribution. Examples of a signal bearingmedium include, but are not limited to, the following: a recordable typemedium such as a floppy disk, a hard disk drive, a Compact Disc (CD), aDigital Video Disk (DVD), a digital tape, a computer memory, etc.; and atransmission type medium such as a digital and/or an analogcommunication medium (e.g., a fiber optic cable, a waveguide, a wiredcommunications link, a wireless communication link, etc.). Further,those skilled in the art will recognize that the mechanical structuresdisclosed are exemplary structures and many other forms and materialsmay be employed in constructing such structures.

The need for mechanisms, devices, methods, systems, and structures whichmay be used to alter hurricanes either in their strength, their origin,or their direction of travel has been realized. Billions of dollars ofdestruction and damage is regularly attributable to hurricanes andhurricane-like tropical storms. Thus, great interest has arisen incontrolling these powerful storms. Conventionally, it has been proposedto deploy barges equipped with upward-pointing jet engines into thepaths of hurricanes. The jet engines would theoretically be configuredto create mini-cyclones which would consume oceanic energy and thusprevent or suppress such high powered weather systems.

Another potential solution involves the use of Dyn-O-Gel, a polymer thatmay absorb as much as 1,500 times its own weight in water to deprive ahurricane of atmospheric moisture. The concept involves the use ofairplanes to drop Dyno-O-Gel into hurricanes to deprive them of moistureand thus of latent heat. The powder is suggested to convert into a gelwhen the atmospheric moisture is captured and would then reliquify whenit encounters higher-osmolality ocean water.

The jet engine solution has been met with great skepticism and the costand feasibility are very uncertain. The use of a moisture absorbing gelrequires the deployment of a huge volume of the absorbing gel material.Also, the use of a moisture absorbing material is still in the testingphase. The gel material after absorbing moisture falls to the ocean andmay dissolve. Depending on the chemical composition of the gel, the gelbe regarded as a pollutant. These various shortcomings considered, itmay be desirable to provide a different approach for altering hurricaneand/or tropical storm activity by providing a structure and method thatsolves at least one or more deficiencies of other systems known in theart. Because hurricanes and other tropical storms derive their energyfrom warm ocean water, it is logical to harness the great energies ofthe Earth's fluid envelopes to suppress or alter hurricanes or othertropical storms, and/or to employ the powers of motion within theseenvelopes over long time-intervals to modulate at least one property ofan envelope that is exploited over much shorter time-scales and/or muchmore limited spatial scales for energizing a hurricane.

A potential solution for cooling warm surface water has been explored byresearchers with Atmocean, Inc. of Santa Fe, N.Mex. In the Atmoceanapproach, an elongated tube with a buoy is used to create an upwellingeffect. The upwelling effect drives cold water from a depth to thesurface.

It is well known that a hurricane's primary energy source is the releaseof the heat of condensation of water vapor condensing at high altitudes,with solar-derived heat being the initial source for evaporation.Therefore, a hurricane may be seen as a giant vertical heat engine,albeit one dependent upon mass supplied by largely horizontal flows.Water condensation leads to higher wind speeds, as a fraction of thereleased energy is converted immediately into thermal energy and thenceinto mechanical energy, the faster winds and lower pressures associatedwith them in turn cause increased surface evaporation and thus even moresubsequent condensation. Much of the released energy drives updraftsthat increase the height of speeding up condensation. This gives rise tofactors that provide the system with enough energy to beself-sustaining, and result in a positive feedback loop that continuesas long as the tropical cyclone can draw energy from a thermal reservoirand isn't excessively sheared along its vertical extent. In this case,the heat source is the warm water at the surface of the ocean. Withoutthis thermal reservoir to support it a hurricane or other similar stormwill not commence, will be weaker, or will die out as the positivefeedback loop diminishes to sub-threshold levels or never gets abovethem.

Referring now to FIG. 1, a cross-section of a water-borne structure orvessel 100 is depicted. Vessel 100 is a tub-like structure having one ormore walls 110 and a bottom 115. Vessel 100 may be held buoyant in thewater by one or more buoyancy tanks 120 which may be used to maintainthe buoyancy of vessel 100 and further may be used to control the heightof walls 110 above the water level. Vessel 100 also includes a conduit125 whose horizontal cross section is substantially smaller than thehorizontal cross section of the tub portion 130 of the vessel defined bywalls 110. In an exemplary embodiment, conduit 125 extends well belowthe ocean surface including depths below the ocean's thermocline.

In most circumstances, most of the sunlight impinging on the oceansurface is absorbed in the surface layer. The surface layer thereforeheats up. Wind and waves move water in this surface layer whichdistributes heat within it. The temperature may therefore be reasonablyuniform to depths extending a few hundred feet down from the oceansurface. Below this mixed layer, however, the temperature decreasesrapidly with depth, for example, as much as 20 degrees Celsius with anadditional 150 m (500 ft) of depth. This area of rapid transition iscalled the thermocline. Below it, the temperature continues to decreasewith depth, but far more gradually. In the Earth's oceans, approximately90% of the mass of water is below the thermocline. This deep oceanconsists of layers of substantially equal density, being poorly mixed,and may be as cold as −2 to 3° C.

Therefore, the lower depths of the ocean may be used as a hugeheat/energy sink which may be exploited by vessel 100. When vessel 100is deployed at sea, waves 135 may lap over the top of walls 110 to inputwarm (relative to deeper waters) surface ocean water into tub 130. Tub130 will fill to a level 140 which is above the average ocean leveldepicted as level 145. Because of the difference between levels 140 and145, a pressure head is created thereby pushing warm surface ocean waterin a downward direction 150 down through conduit 125 to exit into thecold ocean depths (relative to near surface waters) through one or moreopenings 155. In an exemplary embodiment, the depth of opening 155 maybe located below the ocean's thermocline, the approximate bottom ofwhich is depicted as line 160. This cycle will be continuous in bringingwarm surface ocean water to great depth as ocean waves continue to inputwater into tub 130.

If many of vessel 100 are distributed throughout a region of water, thetemperature of the surface of the water may be altered. Referring toFIG. 2, an array 200 of vessels 100 is depicted. Such vessels may bearranged in a plurality of ways, including but not limited topositioning them in a water region in an array, such as array 200, in arandom placement 300, as depicted in FIG. 3, within a region, and/or inany other arrangement. It may be desirable to determine the mostsuitable and/or optimal arrangements through computer modeling or othertechniques. Referring now to FIG. 5, it may be seen that many vessels100 may be dispersed throughout hurricane prone regions such as but notlimited to the Gulf of Mexico 500 or the Caribbean Sea. Vessels 100,depicted for illustrative purposes only and not to scale are shown beingdispersed in a relatively random pattern. Boats 510 may be used to towvessels to desired locations. Also, other means such as self propulsion,airlifting, towing, or other methods to move vessels may also be used.In another embodiment, vessels 100 may be anchored in a variety of ways,including but not limited to anchored to the bottom, anchored usingsubsurface weights, anchored using sea anchors, or anchored to eachother.

Referring again to FIG. 1 vessel 100 may be one vessel in a system foraltering water surface temperature. As such the tub 130 is one type of aholding vessel configured to hold water. Tub 130 includes at least onewall 110 (but may include multiple walls) which are coupled to a bottomportion 115. The at least one wall 110 extends above the water level andthe bottom portion 115 is configured to be submerged. At least oneconduit 125 extends from the bottom of the tub 130. In some, but notnecessarily all, applications, it may be desirable for conduit 125 tohave a length that extends to a depth at which the temperature of waterat the depth (e.g., below line 160) is substantially less than water atthe surface

Vessel 100 may be held buoyant by both the materials used to constructvessel 100 as well as at least one ballast tank 120. Tanks 120 may becoupled to at least one pump 170 and at least one valve 180. Inaccordance with an exemplary embodiment, the height of wall 110 abovethe average water surface level may be varied and controlled dependingon the time-varying height of the local waves and depending on thedesired flow rate through conduit 125. One way in which to vary theheight of wall 110 above the average water level 145 is to pumpatmospheric air into tank 120 or out of tank 120. In conjunction withpump 170, valve 180 may be used to draw water into or out of tanks 120.In accordance with another exemplary embodiment, it may be desirable tohave the ability to mechanically raise or lower at least a portion ofwall 110 relative to the rest of the structure. It may also be desirableto control the raising and lowering of all or part of wall 110 inresponse to conditions adjacent to vessel 100 (e.g., water temperature,wave height).

In another embodiment, water flow into vessel 100 may be via openings175 in wall 110, rather than over the top of wall 110. Such openings maybe configured to preferentially allow flow into vessel 100, instead ofout of the vessel. In some embodiments, openings 175 are passive, usingflaps, checkvalves, rotating drums, or similar mechanisms to supportunidirectional flow. In other embodiments, openings 175 are activelycontrolled, utilizing motorized or variable setpoint flow controldevices such as valves, flaps, rotating drums, or similar mechanisms.

Walls 110 and bottom portion 115 as well as other parts of vessel 100may be constructed of any of a variety of materials and preferably of amaterial substantially resistant to degradation in water. For example,vessel 110 may be substantially constructed from concrete, polymers, atleast one of metals or metal alloys, fabrics, reinforced fabrics, and/orcomposite materials. In some applications, it may be advantageous forthe construction materials to resist degradation only for a limitedperiod of time, as degradation of the structure may diminish oreliminate expenditures associated with post-application retrieval of thestructure. Furthermore, it may be advantageous to allow the structure tosink below the water surface or to the water bottom after application,where degradation may be preferred to occur. In an exemplary embodiment,conduit 125 may be formed of any of a variety of materials includingboth rigid materials and flexible materials. It may also be desirable touse stiffening structures in the conduit depending on the type ofmaterials used. Such stiffening structures aid in maintaining the shapeof conduit 125 under pressure and under stress. The stiffeningstructures may be placed at one or more locations along the length ofthe conduit. Further, such stiffening structures may be deployable andmay aid in deployment along with a conduit which may also be deployablefrom tub 130. In yet another exemplary embodiment, it may be desirableto form vessel 100 from a material which would be known to degrade overtime. This may be useful if it is known that a vessel has a desiredlifespan or term of usefulness. Once the vessel's use is done, thevessel could sink or be sunk where it could subsequently degrade at asubsurface location.

In an exemplary embodiment the holding vessel or tub 110 has ahorizontal cross sectional dimension that is substantially greater thana horizontal cross sectional dimension of the conduit 125. In anotherexemplary embodiment holding vessel or tub 100 has a horizontal crosssectional dimension and/or shape that is substantially the same as thecross sectional dimension and/or shape as conduit 125. The pressure headcreated by the weight of the column of water above the conduit which isabove the line 145 is used to pressurize the descending water in conduit125. In an exemplary embodiment it may be convenient to have a powersource 190 on board vessel 100. Power source 190 may be any of a varietyof power sources, including but not limited to a solar cell, a windgenerator, a wave power generator, a turbine turned by water descendingin the conduit, a battery power source, a fuel powered power source, athermoelectric power source, etc.

In accordance with an embodiment a vessel 600 is depicted in FIG. 6having a conduit 625. Disposed within conduit 625 is a turbine 630.Turbine 630 may be driven by the flow of water through conduit 625.Turbine 630 may be utilized for a variety of purposes including but notlimited to generating power for a variety of purposes, maintainingbuoyancy, controlling buoyancy, driving other turbines, increasing thewater flow through conduit 625, etc.

In accordance with other exemplary embodiments it may be desirable toequip vessel 100 with one or more propulsion systems. Referring now toFIG. 4, a propulsion system may be in the form of a sail or a propeller450 or other motorized propulsion producing device. Such a propulsivedevice may be powered by power source 460 or any other source of power.The propulsion system may be used to control the positioning of vessel100 such that it remains at a specific area, moves in a specificpattern, and/or moves to a completely new location. A rudder 470, fin,sail, or other steering device may be coupled to vessel 100 to helpguide vessel 100. Alternatively, a sail or a propeller 450 may beconfigured to change orientation to provide steering for vessel 100.Because different depths in bodies of water often have currents flowingin different directions or with different speeds, a propulsion systemmay involve the use of one or more sea anchors with mechanisms andcontrol systems to effect proper placement of the sea anchors. In oneexemplary embodiment, it may be desirable to construct vessel 100 with ashape such that its coefficient of drag is less in one direction thananother. This may be accomplished by making the dimensions of vessel 100longer in one direction than another, for example. Other methods andshapes may also be used to produce such an effect.

In accordance with another exemplary embodiment, vessel 100 may includea movable conduit in which at least a portion 480 of conduit 425 may bemovable in various directions in order to provide a propulsive force ina desired direction. In another exemplary embodiment, the movableportion may be one or more openings 455 which may be controlled, alongthe length of conduit 425. The propulsive force generated by water flowthrough conduit 425 may also be varied by opening and closing opening485 using a controlled access device such as door 490 (or other aperturecontrol devices such as but not limited to valves, etc.) that maycontrol the flow rate through conduit 425.

In an exemplary embodiment walls 410 of vessel 100 may be formed ofmultiple wall segments or multiple wall portions. The multiple wallsegments of walls 410 form a closed shape to contain water within vessel100. The wall segments may be curved or straight, may be movable in sucha way as to help let in water or alternatively to release water. In oneexemplary embodiment, vessel 100 may be permanently anchored to thewater floor, temporarily anchored to the water floor, tied to asubsurface weight, tied to one or more sea-anchors, or may be freelymovable. In one exemplary embodiment, vessel 100 is movable by couplingthe vessel to a propulsive vessel, such as a tugboat or the like. Inanother exemplary embodiment, vessel 100 may include a wind capturestructure, such as a sail 495 that may be used to harness wind power formoving the holding vessel. The wind capture structure may be used forcontrolling the amount that the at least one wall of the holding vesselextends above the water, that is it may also be used to provide lift tothe holding vessel 100 structure, to help control how far above thewater level that walls 410 extend. Sea anchors are functionally similarto sails, except instead of extending up into the atmosphere they aredeployed into the water. Thus, sea anchors or current capture structuresmay be used for similar purposes as sails and wind capture structures.These include moving or holding the vehicle, generating power, providinglift, etc. Also in an exemplary embodiment, vessel 100 may have a ramparea 475 or other wave altering area that helps to control how the wavesmove water over the sides of vessel 100. This wave-altering structuremay be a static or passive structure, or it may be an active device orstructure having one or more components that are actuated or powered inorder to have a time-dependent character or activity; the power for suchpurposes may be derived from any of the power-providing means discussedabove, or may be derived from the wave-action itself. Further, in anexemplary embodiment, vessel 100 may have any of a variety of shapesincluding but not limited to circular, elongated, non-circular, shapedin a manner which aids in passively controlling orientation relative towave motion, etc.

Referring now to FIG. 6, a vessel 600 is depicted. Vessel 600 includes aconduit 625 in which a turbine 630 is driven by the downward flow ofwater through conduit 625. In an exemplary embodiment, the turningturbine may be used for a variety of purposes including providingelectric or mechanical power, providing control, providing propulsivepower, etc. In one exemplary embodiment a secondary conduit 640 (whichrepresents one or more conduits) may be used to bring cold water (suchas below an ocean thermocline 650) to upper areas of warmer surfacewater to aid in cooling the warm surface water regions, enhance mixingof subsurface water with surface water, enhance mixing of surface waterwith subsurface water, raising subsurface nutrients to the surface,bringing surface nutrients to subsurface regions, etc. In one exemplaryembodiment, turbine 630 may be used to drive a second turbine 635 inconduit 640 that pumps water up through conduit 640. Further, othermechanisms may be used to bring subsurface water upwards. In mostplaces, deeper waters contain a greater concentration of nutrients thansurface water, so conduit 640 may also be used to transport dissolvednutrients from deeper waters to waters near the surface of the body ofwater.

It may be desirable to construct a vessel such as vessel 100 of FIG. 1,in a variety of shapes and configurations depending on the use and onthe desired performance characteristics. Referring to FIG. 7, analternative exemplary embodiment of a vessel 700 is depicted in the formof an elongate tube that is designed to capture water at its top 710 andthereby develop a pressure head (as described earlier) to push surfacewater to subsurface levels. Walls 720 may form the structure without abottom portion or a tub portion as shown in other exemplary embodiments.Walls 720 may be formed of any of a variety of materials as alsodescribed earlier. Water may be carried to any of a variety ofsubsurface levels depending on the design and desired performance,including but not limited to below thermocline 730.

The capability of the systems and methods described to enhance mixingbetween surface and subsurface water can be useful for otherapplications in addition to thermally based weather modification. Onesuch application is to aid in ocean uptake of atmospheric CO2. Oceansare natural CO2 sinks, and represent the largest active carbon sink onEarth. This role as a sink for CO2 is driven by two processes, thesolubility pump and the biological pump. The former is primarily afunction of differential CO2 solubility in seawater and the thermohalinecirculation, while the latter is the sum of a series of biologicalprocesses that transport carbon (in organic and inorganic forms) fromthe near-surface euphotic zone to the ocean's interior.

The solubility pump is a nonbiological effect wherein CO2 firstdissolves in the surface layer of the ocean. This surface layer canbecome saturated and its ability to absorb more carbon dioxide declines.Use of this system to promote mixing between surface and subsurfacewater enhances the efficacy of the solubility pump in at least twomanners; by net transport of CO2-enriched water downwards, as well as byreducing the temperature of the surface water, thereby increasing itsability to dissolve CO2. The solubility pump enhancement induced by thissystem can also be useful for increasing ocean uptake of otheratmospheric gases, such as methane, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide,etc.

While the biological pump currently has a limited effect on uptake ofCO2 introduced into the atmosphere by human activities, there have beensuggestions to increase the carbon sequestration efficiency of theoceans by increasing the surface-layer phytoplankton concentration,which is in many instances limited by insufficient surface-layernutrients. Nitrates, silicates, and phosphates are, for instance,largely absent from surface waters, yet are considerably more abundantin subsurface oceans. These exemplary systems and methods can be used tomix surface and subsurface waters, thereby transporting nutrientstowards the surface. This increase in surface nutrients can be useful inincreasing the CO2 biological pump by increasing surface-layerphytoplankton concentrations. Increases in surface-layer nutrients canalso be useful for increasing populations of water-based fauna or flora,both in oceans and in other water bodies, such as lakes, reservoirs,rivers, etc.

The benefits of these systems and methods in increasing mixing betweensurface and subsurface water is not restricted to use in oceans, but canalso be beneficial in other bodies of water, such as lakes, reservoirs,rivers, etc.

In a general sense, those skilled in the art will recognize that thevarious embodiments described herein can be implemented, individuallyand/or collectively, by various types of electromechanical systemshaving a wide range of electrical components such as hardware, software,firmware, or virtually any combination thereof; and a wide range ofcomponents that may impart mechanical force or motion such as rigidbodies, spring or torsional bodies, hydraulics, and electrically,magnetically or electromagnetically actuated devices, or virtually anycombination thereof. Consequently, as used herein “electromechanicalsystem” includes, but is not limited to, electrical circuitry operablycoupled with a transducer (e.g., an actuator, a motor, a piezoelectriccrystal, etc.), electrical circuitry having at least one discreteelectrical circuit, electrical circuitry having at least one integratedcircuit, electrical circuitry having at least one application-specificintegrated circuit, electrical circuitry forming a general purposecomputing device configured by a computer program (e.g., a generalpurpose computer configured by a computer program which at leastpartially carries out processes and/or devices described herein, or amicroprocessor configured by a computer program which at least partiallycarries out processes and/or devices described herein), electricalcircuitry forming a memory device (e.g., forms of random access memory),electrical circuitry forming a communications device (e.g., a modem,communications switch, or optical-electrical equipment), and anynon-electrical analog thereto, such as optical, mechanical, fluidic orother analogs. Those skilled in the art will also appreciate thatexamples of electro-mechanical systems include but are not limited to avariety of consumer electronics systems, as well as other systems suchas motorized transport systems, factory automation systems, securitysystems, and communication/computing systems. Those skilled in the artwill recognize that electromechanical as used herein is not necessarilylimited to a system that has both electrical and mechanical actuationexcept as context may dictate otherwise.

In a general sense, those skilled in the art will recognize that thevarious aspects described herein which can be implemented, individuallyand/or collectively, by a wide range of hardware, software, firmware, orany combination thereof can be viewed as being composed of various typesof “electrical circuitry.” Consequently, as used herein “electricalcircuitry” includes, but is not limited to, electrical circuitry havingat least one discrete electrical circuit, electrical circuitry having atleast one integrated circuit, electrical circuitry having at least oneapplication specific integrated circuit, electrical circuitry forming ageneral purpose computing device configured by a computer program (e.g.,a general purpose computer configured by a computer program which atleast partially carries out processes and/or devices described herein,or a microprocessor configured by a computer program which at leastpartially carries out processes and/or devices described herein),electrical circuitry forming a memory device (e.g., forms of randomaccess memory), and/or electrical circuitry forming a communicationsdevice (e.g., a modem, communications switch, or optical-electricalequipment). Those having skill in the art will recognize that thesubject matter described herein may be implemented in an analog ordigital fashion or some combination thereof.

Those skilled in the art will recognize that it is common within the artto implement devices and/or processes and/or systems in the fashion(s)set forth herein, and thereafter use engineering and/or businesspractices to integrate such implemented devices and/or processes and/orsystems into more comprehensive devices and/or processes and/or systems.That is, at least a portion of the devices and/or processes and/orsystems described herein can be integrated into other devices and/orprocesses and/or systems via a reasonable amount of experimentation.Those having skill in the art will recognize that examples of such otherdevices and/or processes and/or systems might include—as appropriate tocontext and application—all or part of devices and/or processes and/orsystems of (a) an air conveyance (e.g., an airplane, rocket, hovercraft,helicopter, etc.), (b) a ground conveyance (e.g., a car, truck,locomotive, tank, armored personnel carrier, etc.), (c) a building(e.g., a home, warehouse, office, etc.), (d) an appliance (e.g., arefrigerator, a washing machine, a dryer, etc.), (e) a communicationssystem (e.g., a networked system, a telephone system, a Voice over IPsystem, etc.), (f) a business entity (e.g., an Internet Service Provider(ISP) entity such as Comcast Cable, Quest, Southwestern Bell, etc), or(g) a wired/wireless services entity such as Sprint, Cingular, Nextel,etc.), etc.

One skilled in the art will recognize that the herein describedcomponents (e.g., steps), devices, and objects and the discussionaccompanying them are used as examples for the sake of conceptualclarity and that various configuration modifications are within theskill of those in the art. Consequently, as used herein, the specificexemplars set forth and the accompanying discussion are intended to berepresentative of their more general classes. In general, use of anyspecific exemplar herein is also intended to be representative of itsclass, and the non-inclusion of such specific components (e.g., steps),devices, and objects herein should not be taken as indicating thatlimitation is desired.

With respect to the use of substantially any plural and/or singularterms herein, those having skill in the art can translate from theplural to the singular and/or from the singular to the plural as isappropriate to the context and/or application. The varioussingular/plural permutations are not expressly set forth herein for sakeof clarity.

The herein described subject matter sometimes illustrates differentcomponents contained within, or connected with, different othercomponents. It is to be understood that such depicted architectures aremerely exemplary, and that in fact many other architectures can beimplemented which achieve the same functionality. In a conceptual sense,any arrangement of components to achieve the same functionality iseffectively “associated” such that the desired functionality isachieved. Hence, any two components herein combined to achieve aparticular functionality can be seen as “associated with” each othersuch that the desired functionality is achieved, irrespective ofarchitectures or intermedial components. Likewise, any two components soassociated can also be viewed as being “operably connected”, or“operably coupled”, to each other to achieve the desired functionality,and any two components capable of being so associated can also be viewedas being “operably couplable”, to each other to achieve the desiredfunctionality. Specific examples of operably couplable include but arenot limited to physically mateable and/or physically interactingcomponents and/or wirelessly interactable and/or wirelessly interactingcomponents and/or logically interacting and/or logically interactablecomponents.

While particular aspects of the present subject matter described hereinhave been shown and described, it will be apparent to those skilled inthe art that, based upon the teachings herein, changes and modificationsmay be made without departing from the subject matter described hereinand its broader aspects and, therefore, the appended claims are toencompass within their scope all such changes and modifications as arewithin the true spirit and scope of the subject matter described herein.Furthermore, it is to be understood that the invention is defined by theappended claims. It will be understood by those within the art that, ingeneral, terms used herein, and especially in the appended claims (e.g.,bodies of the appended claims) are generally intended as “open” terms(e.g., the term “including” should be interpreted as “including but notlimited to,” the term “having” should be interpreted as “having atleast,” the term “includes” should be interpreted as “includes but isnot limited to,” etc.). It will be further understood by those withinthe art that if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation isintended, such an intent will be explicitly recited in the claim, and inthe absence of such recitation no such intent is present. For example,as an aid to understanding, the following appended claims may containusage of the introductory phrases “at least one” and “one or more” tointroduce claim recitations. However, the use of such phrases should notbe construed to imply that the introduction of a claim recitation by theindefinite articles “a” or “an” limits any particular claim containingsuch introduced claim recitation to inventions containing only one suchrecitation, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases“one or more” or “at least one” and indefinite articles such as “a” or“an” (e.g., “a” and/or “an” should typically be interpreted to mean “atleast one” or “one or more”); the same holds true for the use ofdefinite articles used to introduce claim recitations. In addition, evenif a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is explicitlyrecited, those skilled in the art will recognize that such recitationshould typically be interpreted to mean at least the recited number(e.g., the bare recitation of “two recitations,” without othermodifiers, typically means at least two recitations, or two or morerecitations). Furthermore, in those instances where a conventionanalogous to “at least one of A, B, and C, etc.” is used, in generalsuch a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the artwould understand the convention (e.g., “a system having at least one ofA, B, and C” would include but not be limited to systems that have Aalone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and Ctogether, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). In those instances where aconvention analogous to “at least one of A, B, or C, etc.” is used, ingeneral such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill inthe art would understand the convention (e.g., “a system having at leastone of A, B, or C” would include but not be limited to systems that haveA alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and Ctogether, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). It will be furtherunderstood by those within the art that virtually any disjunctive wordand/or phrase presenting two or more alternative terms, whether in thedescription, claims, or drawings, should be understood to contemplatethe possibilities of including one of the terms, either of the terms, orboth terms. For example, the phrase “A or B” will be understood toinclude the possibilities of “A” or “B” or “A and B.”

While various aspects and embodiments have been disclosed herein, otheraspects and embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art.The various aspects and embodiments disclosed herein are for purposes ofillustration and are not intended to be limiting, with the true scopeand spirit being indicated by the following claims.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A system for altering water propertiescomprising: a holding vessel configured to hold water, the holdingvessel having at least one wall, the at least one wall extending atleast above a mean surface water level of a body of water, the holdingvessel configured to receive wave water overtopping the at least onewall and thereby creating a pressure head in the holding vessel, thepressure head being based on a difference in height between the water inthe vessel and the mean surface water level of the body of water, thepressure head causing downwelling without any valve action; a buoyancystructure coupled to the holding vessel, the buoyancy structuregenerally maintaining a top of the at least one wall at a desired heightabove the mean surface water level; a wave alteration structure thataids in causing waves impinging on the holding vessel to overtop the topof the at least one wall; and at least one conduit extending downwardfrom the holding vessel and containing the downwelling, the at least oneconduit having a length extending to a depth at which at least oneproperty of water at the depth differs substantially from that of waterat the surface, the pressure head created in the holding vessel causingthe downwelling in the at least one conduit.
 2. The system of claim 1,wherein the wall also forms the conduit.
 3. The system of claim 1,wherein the conduit has substantially the same cross sectional area asthe cross sectional area of the holding vessel that extends above thewater.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein the conduit has a larger crosssectional area than the cross sectional area of the holding vessel thatextends above the water.
 5. The system of claim 1, wherein at least aportion of at least one wall extends above the water surface but belowthe height of at least some waves striking the wall.
 6. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the height of the wall varies around the holdingvessel.
 7. The system of claim 1, wherein the conduit extends to atleast the depth of the thermocline.
 8. The system of claim 1, whereinthe height of at least a portion of the wall is controlled.
 9. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein at least one of the holding vessel or theconduit has a cross sectional shape that is configured to affectorientation of the holding vessel.
 10. The system of claim 1, whereinthe system is coupled to at least one subsurface weight.
 11. The systemof claim 1, further comprising: a wave alteration structure coupled tothe at least one of the holding vessel or the at least one conduit andconfigured to change characteristics of waves incident on the holdingvessel.
 12. The system of claim 1, further comprising: a power source.13. The system of claim 1, further comprising: a propulsion system, thepropulsion system being powered.
 14. The system of claim 1, wherein thesystem is anchored to at least one of the floor of the water body, or toa sea-anchor.
 15. The system of claim 1, further comprising: at leastone sensor, the sensor being at least one of a location sensor, a flowsensor, a pressure sensor, a composition sensor, or a temperaturesensor.
 16. The system of claim 1, wherein the properties being alteredcomprise at least one of, water temperature, dissolved-gasconcentration, water chemical composition or water biologicalcomposition.
 17. A system for altering water properties, comprising: atub portion configured to hold water, the tub portion formed as acontainer having at least one side extending at least above a meansurface water level of a body of water and the tub portion being atleast partially submerged, the tub configured to receive wave waterovertopping the at least one side and thereby creating a pressure headin the tub, the pressure head being based on a difference in heightbetween the water in the tub portion and the mean surface water level ofthe body of water, the pressure head causing downwelling without anyvalve action; a buoyancy structure coupled to the tub portion, thebuoyancy structure generally maintaining a top of the at least one sideat a desired height above the mean surface water level; a wavealteration structure that aids in causing waves impinging on the tubportion to overtop the top of the at least one side; and at least oneconduit extending downward from the tub portion and containing thedownwelling, the at least one conduit having a length extending to adepth at which at least one property of water at the depth differssubstantially from that of water at the surface, the pressure headcreated in the tub causing the downwelling in the at least one conduit.18. The system of claim 17, wherein the side also forms the conduit. 19.The system of claim 17, wherein the conduit has substantially the samecross sectional area as the cross sectional area of the tub portion thatextends above the water.
 20. The system of claim 17, wherein at least aportion of the at least one side extends above the water surface butbelow the height of at least some of the waves striking the side. 21.The system of claim 17, wherein the conduit extends to at least thedepth of the local thermocline.
 22. The system of claim 17, wherein atleast a portion of the height of the at least one side is controlled.23. The system of claim 17, wherein the orientation of the tub portionis controlled.
 24. The system of claim 17, wherein the tub portion has ahorizontal cross sectional area that is substantially greater than ahorizontal cross sectional area of the conduit.
 25. The system of claim17, further comprising: a power source.
 26. The system of claim 17,further comprising: a turbine in the conduit and being driven by theflow of water in at least a portion of the conduit.
 27. The system ofclaim 17, further comprising: a propulsion system, the propulsion systembeing powered.
 28. The system of claim 17, wherein the system isanchored to the floor of at least one of the body of water or to asea-anchor.
 29. The system of claim 17, wherein the location of thesystem may be changed in the course of its operation.
 30. The system ofclaim 17, wherein the conduit includes at least one opening that directswater out of the conduit in a direction other than downward.
 31. Thesystem of claim 17, wherein at least one of the tub or the conduit has across sectional shape that is configured to affect orientation of thetub so that it aligns with waves incident on the holding vessel in acontrollable manner.
 32. The system of claim 17, wherein the length ofthe conduit is configured to be controlled.
 33. The system of claim 17,wherein the properties being altered comprise at least one of, watertemperature, dissolved-gas concentration, water chemical composition orwater biological composition.
 34. A system for altering conditions belowthe surface of the water, comprising: a holding vessel configured tohold water, the holding vessel having at least one wall, the at leastone wall extending at least above a mean local surface water level of abody of water, the holding vessel configured to receive wave waterovertopping the at least one wall and thereby creating a pressure headin the holding vessel, the pressure head being based on a difference inheight between the water in the vessel and the mean surface water levelof the body of water, the pressure head causing downwelling without anyvalve action; a buoyancy structure coupled to the holding vessel, thebuoyancy structure generally maintaining a top of the at least one wallat a desired height above the mean surface water level; at least onefirst conduit extending downward from the holding vessel, the at leastone conduit having a length extending to a depth below the local watersurface, the pressure head created in the holding vessel causing thedownwelling in the at least one conduit and to drive a first turbine;and at least one second conduit extending upward from an opening belowthe water surface and having a second turbine at least partially drivenby the first turbine and propelling water upward from the openingthrough the at least one second conduit.
 35. The system of claim 34,wherein the holding vessel has internal structures to modify wavedynamics or to modulate sloshing of water within it.
 36. The system ofclaim 34, wherein the conduit is not vertical.
 37. The system of claim34, wherein at least a portion of the wall of the holding vessel portioncomprises apertures.
 38. The system of claim 34, wherein at least aportion of the wall of the holding vessel comprises apertures and theapertures are controllable.
 39. The system of claim 34, wherein theconduit has substantially the same cross sectional area as the crosssectional area of the holding vessel that extends above the local meansurface water level.
 40. The system of claim 34, wherein at least aportion of at least one wall extends above the water surface but belowthe height of at least some of the waves impinging upon the wall. 41.The system of claim 34, wherein the conduit extends such that the flowof water exiting the conduit induces convective motion in at least onefluidized material on or near the floor of the water body.
 42. Thesystem of claim 34, further comprising: a power source.
 43. The systemof claim 34, further comprising: a turbine in the conduit.
 44. Thesystem of claim 34, further comprising: a propulsion system, thepropulsion system being powered.
 45. The system of claim 34, wherein thesystem is anchored to at least one of the floor of the water body or toa sea-anchor.
 46. The system of claim 34, wherein the conduit includesat least one opening that directs water out of the conduit in adirection other than downward.
 47. The system of claim 34, wherein thesystem is used to influence biological activity.
 48. The system of claim34, wherein at least a portion of the height of the at least one wall iscontrolled relative to waves incident on the wall.
 49. The system ofclaim 34, wherein the length of the conduit is configured to becontrolled.
 50. The system of claim 34, wherein the water flowingthrough the conduit influences the concentration of at least onebiological or chemical material near the surface of the body of water.